Practice & Patience
by anewsgirl
Summary: Bolin ponders his relationship with the Avatar over the course of a day. Bolin/Korra with hints of Korra/Mako and Mako/Asami Set between episodes 5 & 6. Switched sections now that LoK has its own section.


A/N: This is my first Legend of Korra fic. Any constructive criticism will be welcomed. Also a round of applause for my editor, Mer3girl!

Disclaimer: All trademarks belong to their respective owners.

He lay on his bed, wondering. His glance turns to the window. There is a spectacular view of Air Temple Island, where the Avatar was likely asleep, probably dreaming of his brother.

Bolin closed his eyes, imaging the teenage Avatar. Her smile, her laugh, her blue eyes, and numerous other traits painted his image of the young woman he considered the world's most beautiful.

The thought stung worse than Mako's firebending. Having lived with a firebender since birth, Bolin had often become an unintentional target when he lost control. Yet, Mako had always been the popular one, the handsome one, the cool one. Damn firebender. He even had the one thing Bolin had recently begun to want: Korra's affections.

He had rescued the girl when she got caught sneaking around the arena. He had been the one who taught her new bending techniques when Korra revealed she had only been schooled in the traditional form of earthbending. He was the one who asked her out. Yet, he had caught her kissing his brother.

The thought of that moment made him want to cry, to smash rocks into a building or to just do something to ease the pain. Didn't Korra know he cared about her?

He was about to go back to sleep when he heard the scurrying of little feet. Once Pabu was up, Bolin knew he stood no chance of getting any sleep, because it meant Mako was up too. The firebender rose with the sun, often waking Pabu and Bolin in the process.

"Time to wake up, Bro," said an annoyingly cheerful voice. Mako was a morning person in the worst way.

"Still sleepy," he mumbled, not ready to move yet. Bolin wanted to go back to sleep. Just as he went to roll over, he felt his body become wet, then freeze, and finally be surrounded by steam. He jumped up, exposing his bare chest. Thankfully, he had worn pants to bed last night.

"What the hell?" Bolin sputtered, only to notice Korra standing in the doorway. She was wearing her usual outfit, carrying a basket in her hands this morning. The teenager took a good long look at him. Korra seemed to be staring at his muscular chest. He may be stouter than his brother, but his extra bulk was all muscle and sinew from earthbending.

"Good morning to you too," she responded, walking into the apartment and placing the basket on the table. Korra then took a seat at the table. Mako and Pabu immediately began to examine it. The fire ferret reached into the basket to take a piece of fruit out. Mako withdrew a loaf of bread and what appeared to be hard-boiled eggs.

"Fresh bread, fruit, and eggs?" he questioned. "I wouldn't have guessed you to be the cooking type. "

"I'm not," she admitted. "Pema made enough food to feed the whole island this morning. So, she sent me over with a basket for you two."

"Send her our thanks," said Mako.

"We may have to list her as a sponsor next year," added Bolin.

Korra laughed. Her laughter was so musical to him. He took advantage of the moment to stare at the teen before him. Her muscular, curvy form exuded a healthy beauty rarely seen in Republic City's natives, but occasionally in immigrants from the Earth Kingdom or the Water Tribes. Her eyes caught his for a moment. There seemed to be a hint of a blush on her dark cheeks.

"Let's make some tea," he suggested quickly.

She and Mako nodded in agreement. Pabu ignored him in favor of the fruit he was still gnawing on. Mako busied himself with the teapot, firebending to speed the boiling process. Bolin took a spot next to Korra.

"So, ready for practice today?" questioned Korra.

"Always. Nothing like getting to bend."

"I see you two are anxious to get started," commented Mako as he brought the teapot to the table. The firebender took the seat opposite Bolin on Korra's other side.

"You don't enjoy bending?" retorted Korra.

"Of course, I do."

'You just enjoy bending hearts more, don't you?' thought Bolin.

The quartet finished their breakfast in relative silence. Mako put aside the leftover fruit and bread for a later meal. Bolin pulled on a practice shirt while Korra played with Pabu. The expression on her face was so gentle as she scratched the fire ferret behind the ears. He had once heard as a young child from his mother that the avatar often held a special affection for animals. It was said that the predecessor, Avatar Aang, had a sky bison and a flying lemur as companions. For Korra, a polar bear dog as her best friend.

"Ready?" asked Mako, interrupting Bolin's thoughts and Pabu's petting.

He walked downstairs without another word. Bolin and Korra followed him down the winding staircases to the practice area. The three silently changed into their practice uniforms side by side, and then entered the gym.

Almost immediately the mood changed. Mako began shooting short bursts of flames at Korra and Bolin. The former began lashing back with water whips. Bolin shot multiple earth disks at his brother. Mako's firebending as usual was flawless. However, Korra's bending was different than usual.

Her usual waterbending style emphasized her powerful abilities, but today she was moving more gracefully. He had seen these movements before in her first match. She was using the airbending form to waterbend.

He could stare at her all day if he wasn't too busy dodging her and Mako's attacks. They continued like this for hours, paying little attention to the time. Suddenly, he felt an earth disk hit him in the gut. He heard Mako grunt too.

"If you earthbend in a match we'll get disqualified," stated Mako angrily. "Remember last time?"

Mako got up from his former position on the floor. He was not happy.

"This is not a match," Korra retorted. "It's also a good way to remind you to keep your guard up in a match."

"At least I stick to the rules."

The air between the two was heating up. Bolin got up and stood back slowly, knowing that firebenders could get "firey" when emotional.

"I may have earthbended in a match, but at least I didn't hit my own teammate."

"Earthbending is worse."

"Well no one expected the Avatar to become a probender," interjected a familiar female voice.

Asami walked into the room. She greeted Mako with a kiss. Korra cringed. Bolin wished he could comfort her.

"I haven't come at a bad time, have I?" she asked.

"Nope, I was just earthbending," admitted Korra.

"Sounds like a good way to mimic the other team," commented Asami.

Mako glared at Korra. She stuck out her tongue at him when Asami wasn't looking.

"We've got a lunch date today."

"Have fun," replied Bolin. "Don't keep my brother out too late."

Asami laughed.

"I make no promises."

She and Mako left quickly, leaving Bolin and Korra by themselves. His female teammate approached him, getting quite close.

"Do you want me to look at your chest?" inquired Korra as she withdrew some water from a vat.

Ever since his shoulder had been hurt in that semifinals match, Korra had insisted on healing any injuries either he or Mako had gotten in a practice or a match.

"You hit me lower than that," he grunted.

"Did I hit you...?" stammered the Avatar, not finishing her sentence.

"Spirits no, woman!" responded Bolin. "You got me in the stomach."

He removed his protective gear and shirt, allowing her to see the bruise. His pale skin was marred by a spreading violet mark. Korra applied the healing water to it, triggering the process. Bolin groaned involuntarily. Korra raised an eyebrow as she healed him.

"Do you know how good this feels?"

"Yes, I heal myself," she said with a hint of pride.

She removed the water from the spot, revealing a bruise that had yellowed significantly. With another healing session, or in a few days, it would be gone.

"Should I look at your shoulder?"

"Sure, if you want."

Korra applied water to the spot. In a much shorter span, it felt better.

"It's going to take time until it's fully whole. I can't heal it further."

The Avatar never finished her sentence because Bolin pulled her into a kiss. She did not further it, but she did not cease it either. Eventually, she broke it.

"See you tomorrow, Bolin," she said.

The teen then took her leave. Bolin smiled.


End file.
